Turtle Bay predicted to be NYC’s hottest nabe in 2023

It looks like Turtle Bay — yes, that Turtle Bay — will be the hottest neighborhood in New York City come 2023.

No, not trendy Williamsburg in Brooklyn — or even parts of downtown Manhattan where cool kids hang. Turtle Bay, which sits east of Lexington Avenue and between East 42nd and East 53rd streets — and is known as home to the United Nations and the Chrysler Building — had traditionally been considered stale and overlooked as a place to live. But now, it has a new future in store.

A new study by listings portal StreetEasy suggests that New Yorkers are now seeking out places within walking distance of their offices — in order to avoid a long commute, not to mention potentially scary subway rides.

Turtle Bay — itself a sub-neighborhood of Midtown East — has recently been popular among buyers and renters, with strong demand driving up the median asking price by 25% to $992,500 from the 2021 median, the study notes.

It’s also the neighborhood that claimed a 47% jump in housing searches from 2021 to 2022, the report adds.

What was initially one of the cheaper options, the interest in the neighborhood has since increased prices. But still remains fairly reasonable in comparison to other Manhattan areas.

Meanwhile, the borough-wide median sale price is $1.1 million, according to third-quarter data from Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman.

The average asking rent in Turtle Bay has also skyrocketed to $4,000 a month —  up 33% in the past year. This is roughly what renters are currently paying across Manhattan after factoring in concessions, Elliman’s report said — and in a year when city rents reached record highs and plateaued.

The second hottest neighborhood?

Bushwick in Brooklyn. For those predominantly working from home, this neighborhood sits on the outskirts of Williamsburg and is vastly cheaper — making it a more desirable option.